How to prepare for placements in analytics or coding profiles

Hello Everyone!

I have been asked regarding placement preparation for analytics/coding roles multiple times now. I suppose it is a good idea to pen down the path I followed. Before that, a short introduction of mine. I graduated from IIT Bombay with a degree in Economics in 2021 and I am placed as data scientist at HiLabs.

We will go over the contents of this blog in following manner:

While the coding or analytics roles that students get differ widely in terms of what the final job is about, the criterion and methods that companies use for screening and interview process are fairly similar in nature. So one can follow a single path and get placed as an Analyst, Data Scientist, Software Developer and what not!

As discussed, the selection processes followed by companies is similar. Generally, students have to go through screening tests which include questions on coding, aptitude, data science, OOPS, English and puzzles. These topics vary in tests and as you’d have already guessed, different firms ask different topics. However, coding, aptitude and puzzles are very common topics. Data Science and English questions less so and OOPS is asked very rarely in these tests. After the test, if you’ve performed decently, you’re shortlisted for interviews. The things asked in interviews differ widely and can be a bit random. We will discuss those under that heading itself. After going through multiple rounds of interviews and performing well in them (that’s the key :p), you will be selected.

Different colleges follow different timelines. At IIT Bombay, the tests usually begin from the first week of October and continue till last week of November. The interview process starts on Dec 1 and continues till you are selected. As far as I am aware, this is the timeline followed by all the IITs, however, do check with your college seniors for knowing these things beforehand. If you’re starting from scratch, 2–3 months of dedicated preparation should be good enough. Though, this is very subjective for every individual and can’t be generalized for everyone.

Analytics and coding are among the very few roles where your CV isn’t very important. It doesn’t matter what kind of internships you’ve done or what kind of positions of responsibility (PoRs) you’ve had or which extra curriculars did you take part in, or, for most companies, what is your CPI. The most important thing is your skills and that is what you’re judged on. One should note those who have had good and relevant internships/PoRs/Extra-Curriculars would definitely have a slight advantage, however, those who don’t wouldn’t be worse off.

Finally, what all prep is required? Simply speaking, coding, aptitude, puzzles, and basic Machine Learning and SQL are enough. Of these, coding is single most important factor. Let’s get to these under their own headings.

Coding is the single most important factor in your selection. This is not to say that other things we are going to discuss are not important, but not as important as coding. Firms shortlist candidates based on coding tests and so no coding means no interviews. Another important thing is these tests usually have a timeline, for example, at IIT B, these tests start around first week of October and last till last week of November. And once these begin, you’ll hardly have any time to learn anything new. Also, after the tests, coding is not as important in interviews and it is not advisable to prepare for it just before interviews.

If you’ve done a course in Data Structures and Algorithms, the syllabus is all you need to learn. Starting from basics like arrays and two pointers, going through Algorithms (Sorting algorithms as least), basic data structures like lists, stacks, queues and finally some advanced stuff like graphs, dynamic programming, etc. On InterviewBit, go to Programming>Practice and go through all the 8 levels. That should cover it.

Aptitude is a part of most company tests and it requires a bit of preparation. Most engineering students, or rather students in engineering students are already prepared for it, but they are just rusty.

I prepared for IIM CAT along with placements and quant section of that prepares you enough for aptitude tests. If you are not preparing for CAT, you can simply go through websites that provide free CAT prep and try your hand specifically at quant section. Aptitude is, generally speaking, not asked in interviews and so tests is all it is required for.

When I use the term Data Science, I mean basics of Machine Learning and SQL. While some companies do ask questions on these in tests as well, most of the questions on these are asked in the interviews and you need to prepare for them.

Puzzles are sometimes asked in company tests and very commonly asked in interviews. If you are not sure what I mean by puzzles, here’s an easy example from Geeks For Geeks:

These are the two books and a website that you should definitely go through for preparing for puzzles:

While there is no end to preparing for puzzles, these resources are sufficient.

While discussing interview preparation at length will require another article by itself, which I am hoping to write sometime soon, a small paragraph here should get you an idea.

Things that are required for interviews are already mentioned. You might be asked a coding question, the difficult of which can vary. But since you’re prepared for that, no worries here. Puzzles are definitely a part of most of the interviews and you need to practice on enough of them, to develop a thought process for these. Finally, few questions on data science can also be asked, but most likely, they are going to be very basic ones.

Some of us are lucky enough to get selected in the first interview we appear for, while others maybe not so. And if your interviews are scheduled back to back, poor performance in one can lead to mental stress which will ensure poorer performance in next interview too, and the cycle would perpetuate. Therefore, it is of paramount importance that you don’t let the results of previous interviews hurt your performance in the present or coming interviews.

That is all, I think, that’s required in placement prep. All the Best!!

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